Books by Diane Stanley
Thanksgiving on Plymouth Plantation (The Time-Traveling Twins)
Wouldn't it be great to be part of that famous Thanksgiving feast at Plymouth Plantation back in 1621?
Then join the Time-Traveling Twins as they sit down to an enormous FOUR-DAY feast, complete with puddings, pompions, pottages, and, of course, turkeys. Meet Squanto and the other Native Americans. Help with the harvest. Find out what it was like to be a Pilgrim.
Once again, historian Diane Stanley's fun and impeccably researched text is brought to life by Holly Berry's accessible illustrations. Word balloons, engaging characters, and all sorts of wonderful details about the beginning of this American tradition await the lucky adventurer who journeys back with the Time-Traveling Twins.
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Joan of Arc
Against the fascinating tapestry of Frances history during the Hundred Years' War, Diane Stanley unfolds the story of the simple thirteen-year-old village girl who in Just a few years would lead France to independence from English rule, and thus become a symbol of France's national pride. It is a story of vision and bravery, fierce determination, and tragic martyrdom.
Diane Stanley's extraordinary gift to present historical information in an accessible and child-friendly format has never been more impressive, nor her skillful, beautifully realized illustrations (here imitating medieval illuminated manuscripts) more exquisite.
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Joan of Arc
Very few people know that Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens) wrote a major work on Joan of Arc. Still fewer know that he considered it not only his most important but also his best work. He spent twelve years in research and many months in France doing archival work and then made several attempts until he felt he finally had the story he wanted to tell. He reached his conclusion about Joan's unique place in history only after studying in detail accounts written by both sides, the French and the English. Because of Mark Twain's antipathy to institutional religion, one might expect an anti-Catholic bias toward Joan or at least toward the bishops and theologians who condemned her. Instead one finds a remarkably accurate biography of the life and mission of Joan of Arc told by one of this country's greatest storytellers. The very fact that Mark Twain wrote this book and wrote it the way he did is a powerful testimony to the attractive power of the Catholic Church's saints. This is a book that really will inform and inspire.
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Bella at Midnight
Bella has grown up thinking that she was just a simple peasant girl. But suddenly, Bella's world collapses. First, her best friend, Julian, betrays her. Then she finds out that she is, in fact, Isabel, the daughter of a knight who abandoned her in infancy. And now he wants her back. Bella is torn from her beloved foster family and tries to accept her new life with her deranged father and his resentful wife. But when she finds out about a terrible plot that threatens the kingdom, she sets out on a journey that will lead her to a destiny far greater than she could have imagined.
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Bella at Midnight
In the little village of Castle Down, in a kingdom plagued by war, lives a peasant girl called Bella. Blessed with a kind family and a loving friend, she manages to create her own small patch of sunlight in a dark and dangerous world. Bella is a blacksmith's daughter; her friend Julian is a prince -- yet neither seems to notice the great gulf that divides his world from hers.
Suddenly Bella's world collapses. First Julian betrays her. Then it is revealed that she is not the peasant she believed herself to be: She is Isabel, the daughter of a knight who abandoned her in infancy. Now he wants her back, so Bella is torn from her beloved foster family and sent to live with her deranged father and his resentful new wife. Soon Bella is caught up in a terrible plot that will change her life -- and the kingdom -- forever. With the help of her godmother and three enchanted gifts, she sets out on a journey in disguise that will lead her to a destiny far greater than any she could have imagined.
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Mozart: The Wonder Child: A Puppet Play in Three Acts
Award-winning author and illustrator Diane Stanley engagingly tells the story of a brilliant boy who grew up to be a complex and often troubled young man—a man who composed some of the most beautiful music of all time. This nonfiction picture book is an excellent choice to share during homeschooling, in particular for children ages 6 to 8. It’s a fun way to learn to read and as a supplement for activity books for children.
With stunning and expressive illustrations, she portrays Mozart's turbulent life as a marionette show, inspired by the famous Salzburg Marionette Theatre, using an innovative artistic approach to present the life of a renowned musical genius. In concise and lyrical prose, Stanley presents an honest and sympathetic portrait of the boyhood and tragically short adulthood of a composer whose music has lived on for more than two hundred years.
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Goldie and the Three Bears
In this spirited new version of a classic fairy tale, we meet a determined heroine with a mind of her own. Can she help it if everyone she invites over is too bossy or too boring or too snobby or too rough? What Goldie desperately wants is a friend she can love with all her heart. And one day, she finds one who's just right.
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Saving Sky
The country is at war, terrorists strike at random, widespread rationing is in effect, and the power grid is down. But thirteen-year-old Sky Brightman is remarkably untouched by it all. She lives off the grid on sixty acres of rural New Mexico ranch land with chores to do and horses to ride and no television or internet to bring disturbing news into her family's adobe house. Sky's schoolmates think she's a little weird.
Then a string of mysterious arrests begins, and her new friend, Kareem, becomes a target. Sky is finally forced to confront the world in all its complexity. Summoning her considerable courage and ingenuity, she takes a stand against injustice. With humor, hope, and fierce determination, she proves that even a child can change the world.
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Cleopatra
by Diane Stanley, Peter Vennema
Queen of Egypt at the age of eighteen, Cleopatra's passion was to untie the world under Egyptian rule. Legendary leaders risked their kingdoms to win her heart, and her epic life has inspired countless tales throughout history. A timeless story of love, war, and ambition, this pictorial biography from acclaimed author/illustrator Diane Stanley is sure to entertain and educate. This nonfiction picture book is an excellent choice to share during homeschooling, in particular for children ages 6 to 8. It’s a fun way to learn to read and as a supplement for activity books for children.
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Leonardo da Vinci
by Diane Stanley, Sherwin Nuland, Walter Isaacson
The life and work of the great Italian Renaissance artist and scientist Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519) have proved endlessly fascinating for generations. In Leonardo da Vinci, Sherwin Nuland completes his twenty-year quest to understand an unlettered man who was a painter, architect, engineer, philosopher, mathematician, and scientist. What was it that propelled Leonardo’s insatiable curiosity? Nuland finds clues in his subject’s art, relationships, and scientific studies—as well as in a vast quantity of notes that became widely known in the twentieth century. Scholarly and passionate, Nuland’s Leonardo da Vinci takes us deep into the first truly modern, empirical mind, one that was centuries ahead of its time.
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Leonardo da Vinci
by Diane Stanley, Sherwin Nuland, Walter Isaacson
In this magnificent addition to a distinguished series that includes Cleopatra, Joan of Arc, and Bard of Avon: The Story of William Shakespeare, award-winning author-artist Diane Stanley blends wonderful storytelling with gorgeous illustrations to convey the stunning scope of Leonardo da Vinci's genius in a book that has won many awards and earned two starred reviews. This nonfiction picture book is an excellent choice to share during homeschooling, in particular for children ages 6 to 8. It’s a fun way to learn to read and as a supplement for activity books for children.
A 1996 ALA Notable Book
A 1997 Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor Book for Nonfiction
A 1997 Orbis Pictus Award
A 1996 Publishers Weekly Best Books Award
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Leonardo da Vinci
by Diane Stanley, Sherwin Nuland, Walter Isaacson
The #1 New York Times bestseller from Walter Isaacson brings Leonardo da Vinci to life in this exciting new biography that is “a study in creativity: how to define it, how to achieve it…Most important, it is a powerful story of an exhilarating mind and life” (The New Yorker).
Based on thousands of pages from Leonardo da Vinci’s astonishing notebooks and new discoveries about his life and work, Walter Isaacson “deftly reveals an intimate Leonardo” (San Francisco Chronicle) in a narrative that connects his art to his science. He shows how Leonardo’s genius was based on skills we can improve in ourselves, such as passionate curiosity, careful observation, and an imagination so playful that it flirted with fantasy.
He produced the two most famous paintings in history, The Last Supper and the Mona Lisa. With a passion that sometimes became obsessive, he pursued innovative studies of anatomy, fossils, birds, the heart, flying machines, botany, geology, and weaponry. He explored the math of optics, showed how light rays strike the cornea, and produced illusions of changing perspectives in The Last Supper. His ability to stand at the crossroads of the humanities and the sciences, made iconic by his drawing of Vitruvian Man, made him history’s most creative genius.
In the “luminous” (Daily Beast) Leonardo da Vinci, Isaacson describes how Leonardo’s delight at combining diverse passions remains the ultimate recipe for creativity. So, too, does his ease at being a bit of a misfit: illegitimate, gay, vegetarian, left-handed, easily distracted, and at times heretical. His life should remind us of the importance to be imaginative and, like talented rebels in any era, to think different. Here, da Vinci “comes to life in all his remarkable brilliance and oddity in Walter Isaacson’s ambitious new biography…a vigorous, insightful portrait” (The Washington Post).
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$23.00
Leonardo da Vinci
by Diane Stanley, Sherwin Nuland, Walter Isaacson
The #1 New York Times bestseller from Walter Isaacson brings Leonardo da Vinci to life in this exciting new biography that is “a study in creativity: how to define it, how to achieve it…Most important, it is a powerful story of an exhilarating mind and life” (The New Yorker).
Based on thousands of pages from Leonardo da Vinci’s astonishing notebooks and new discoveries about his life and work, Walter Isaacson “deftly reveals an intimate Leonardo” (San Francisco Chronicle) in a narrative that connects his art to his science. He shows how Leonardo’s genius was based on skills we can improve in ourselves, such as passionate curiosity, careful observation, and an imagination so playful that it flirted with fantasy.
He produced the two most famous paintings in history, The Last Supper and the Mona Lisa. With a passion that sometimes became obsessive, he pursued innovative studies of anatomy, fossils, birds, the heart, flying machines, botany, geology, and weaponry. He explored the math of optics, showed how light rays strike the cornea, and produced illusions of changing perspectives in The Last Supper. His ability to stand at the crossroads of the humanities and the sciences, made iconic by his drawing of Vitruvian Man, made him history’s most creative genius.
In the “luminous” (Daily Beast) Leonardo da Vinci, Isaacson describes how Leonardo’s delight at combining diverse passions remains the ultimate recipe for creativity. So, too, does his ease at being a bit of a misfit: illegitimate, gay, vegetarian, left-handed, easily distracted, and at times heretical. His life should remind us of the importance to be imaginative and, like talented rebels in any era, to think different. Here, da Vinci “comes to life in all his remarkable brilliance and oddity in Walter Isaacson’s ambitious new biography…a vigorous, insightful portrait” (The Washington Post).
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Saladin: Noble Prince of Islam
Forty years before the boy was born, a horde of bloodthirsty barbarians thundered out of the west and conquered his native land. They had succeeded because his people, ever at war with one another, had not fought together to defend their cities. In time the boy was destined to become the very leader that was needed, a man with the courage and vision to unite his people and face the most fearsome and brilliant warrior of the age.
The time was the twelfth century; the barbarian horde was the armies of the First Crusade; the great warrior was Richard the Lionhearted; and the leader was Saladin. This is more than the other side of a familiar Western story, the Crusades. It is the tale of an extraordinary man, remarkable for his generous and chivalrous ways, a warrior who longed for peace. Courageous in battle and merciful in victory, he would be revered even by his enemies as the "marvel of his time."
In her vibrant narrative and magnificently detailed illustrations inspired by the Islamic art of the time, Diane Stanley presents a hero whose compassion, piety, tolerance, and wisdom made him a model for his time -- and for ours.
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Michelangelo
by Diane Stanley, Hugo Chapman, Gilles Néret
An attractive introduction to the drawings by master draftsman Michelangelo
Michelangelo (1475–1564) is a giant in the history of art. The versatility of his artistic skill was extraordinarily wide: apart from being a sculptor, painter, and draftsman, he was also an architect and a poet. In all of his works, it is the beauty, perfection, and virtuosity of execution that continues to inspire and endure.
Central to all of Michelangelo’s artistic endeavors were his drawings, in which his creative ideas originated, evolved, and were perfected. This handsome book takes a fascinating tour of the artist’s drawings by looking at highlights––ranging from unfinished sketches to delicate, refined studies––all of which are located in the exceptional collection of the British Museum. Included are studies of some of Michelangelo’s most famous works such as the Sistine Chapel ceiling and the Last Judgement.
With an introductory essay on the artist’s life and key works, and beautiful color reproductions of the drawings, this book provides an indispensable foundation for understanding Michelangelo’s art, his creative genius, and his unparalleled gift as a draftsman.
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Michelangelo
by Diane Stanley, Hugo Chapman, Gilles Néret
With her thoroughly researched, lively narrative and superbly detailed illustrations, Diane Stanley has captured the life of the artist Michelangelo, who towered above the late Renaissance—and whose brilliance in architecture, painting, and sculpture amazes and moves us to this day.
Michelangelo had a turbulent, quarrelsome life. He was obsessed with perfection and felt that everyone--from family members to his demanding patrons—took advantage and let him down. His long and difficult association with Pope Julius II yielded his greatest masterpiece, the radiant paintings in the Sistine Chapel, and his most disastrous undertaking, the monumental tomb that caused the artist frustration and heartache for forty years.
Children's Books 2000-NY Public Lib., Books for Youth Editor's Choice 2000 (Booklist), Lasting Connections 2000 (Book Links), Best Books 2000 (School Library Journal), Top 10 Youth Art Books 2000 (Booklist), and Notable Children's Trade Books in the Field of Social Studies 2001, National Council for SS & Child. Book Council
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Michelangelo
by Diane Stanley, Hugo Chapman, Gilles Néret
Italian-born Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (1475–1564) was a tormented, prodigiously talented, and God-fearing Renaissance man. His manifold achievements in painting, sculpture, architecture, poetry, and engineering combined body, spirit, and God into visionary masterpieces that changed art history forever. Famed biographer Giorgio Vasari considered him the pinnacle of Renaissance achievement. His peers called him simply “Il Divino” (“the divine one”).This book provides the essential introduction to Michelangelo with all the awe-inspiring masterpieces and none of the queues and crowds. With vivid illustration and accessible texts, we explore the artist’s extraordinary figuration and celebrated style of terribilità (momentous grandeur), which allowed human and biblical drama to exist in compelling scale and fervor. Through the power hubs of Renaissance Italy, we take in his major commissions and phenomenal capacity for compositional schemes, whether the famous Medici library in Florence, or the extraordinary 500-square-meter ceiling (1508–1512) in the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel.From the towering David to the aching grief and faith of The Pietà and the vivid drama of the Sistine Chapel’s Last Judgment, this is a succinct, dependable reference to a true giant of art history and to some of the most famous artworks in the world.
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Resist!: Peaceful Acts That Changed Our World
As a new wave of protests sweeps the nation and the world, young readers will be inspired by these accounts of activists who refused to be ignored.
"This book is right on time."--Nikki Grimes, Children's Literature Legacy Medal Winner
From music to marches, from sit-ins to walk-outs, activists throughout history have defended the disenfranchised and demanded reform, refusing to back down even in the face of violent oppression and overwhelming opposition. Today, a new generation of activists has arisen, speaking up in unprecedented numbers against systemic oppression, bias, and injustice.
Resist!, a collection of 21 brief but comprehensive essays accompanied by striking artwork and rich supplementary material by Diane Stanley, reminds us of the activists who came before: the men and women who have used peaceful resistance and non-violent protests to make their voices heard.
Featured figures include: Harriet Tubman, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Woody Guthrie, Mohandas Gandhi, Irena Sendler, The Hollywood Ten, Claudette Colvin and Rosa Parks, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, The Greensboro Lunch Counter Sit-in protestors, Martin Luther King, Jr., Larry Itliong, Dolores Huerta, Cesar Chavez, Richard Oakes, The Tree-Sitters of Pureora, Father Luis Olivares, Tank Man, Nelson Mandela, Ryan White, Ai Weiwei, the "It Gets Better" Project, The March For Our Lives protestors, and Greta Thunberg.
Diane Stanley, award-winning author and illustrator of many distinctive informational books for young people writes with passion and conviction of the world's greatest activists, past and present, in this book which is as hopeful as it is inspiring.
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Ada Lovelace, Poet of Science: The First Computer Programmer
ALA NOTABLE BOOK
AMELIA BLOOMER TOP TEN BOOK
“Stanley has been delighting and informing readers with her biographies for years, and here, her considerable talents are once again on display…Hartland’s charmingly busy art, reminiscent of Maira Kalman’s work, is full of wit.” —Booklist (starred review)
From nonfiction stars Diane Stanley and Jessie Hartland comes a beautifully illustrated biography of Ada Lovelace, who is known as the first computer programmer.
Two hundred years ago, a daughter was born to the famous poet, Lord Byron, and his mathematical wife, Annabella.
Like her father, Ada had a vivid imagination and a creative gift for connecting ideas in original ways. Like her mother, she had a passion for science, math, and machines. It was a very good combination. Ada hoped that one day she could do something important with her creative and nimble mind.
A hundred years before the dawn of the digital age, Ada Lovelace envisioned the computer-driven world we know today. And in demonstrating how the machine would be coded, she wrote the first computer program. She would go down in history as Ada Lovelace, the first computer programmer.
Diane Stanley’s lyrical writing and Jessie Hartland’s vibrant illustrations capture the spirit of Ada Lovelace and bring her fascinating story vividly to life.
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Joplin, Wishing
A heartfelt and magical middle grade novel in the tradition of Tuck Everlasting and Bridge to Terabithia,about family, wishes, and the power of true friends to work magic.
While cleaning out her reclusive grandfather’s house, Joplin discovers pieces of a broken platter in a cookie tin. After having the platter repaired, Joplin wishes that she could both find a friend at school, and befriend the girl pictured in the platter.
The next day, Joplin befriends a boy named Barrett, and also notices a girl outside her apartment. A girl who looks remarkably like the girl in the platter…
The girl introduces herself as Sofie, and she has a terrible secret. Cursed to grant wishes for the owner of the platter for all of time, she has been trapped for centuries. Joplin and Barrett vow to help her, but freeing Sofie is more complicated than they could have imagined, and the three friends end up against a sinister foe who could put them all in terrible danger.
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The High-Flying, Deep-Diving Adventures of Kathy Sullivan Astronaut and Oceanographer
Discover the true story of Kathy Sullivan, the first woman to walk in space and the only woman who has been to both outer space and the depths of the ocean, in this inspiring nonfiction picture book biography.
Growing up, Kathy Sullivan always knew the world was bigger than her neighborhood. She loved to study maps and wonder about distant places. And when she was six years old and saw Sputnik in the sky, she knew space would be the most amazing adventure of all.
One of the first six trailblazing women to join NASA’s storied astronaut corps, Kathy was the first woman to walk in space and a veteran of three shuttle missions. She was in the first NASA Astronaut Group 8, provided support for the first Space Shuttle mission and the Kennedy Space Center crew, and was part of the team that launched, rescued, and maintained the Hubble Space Telescope.
After spending 532 total hours in space, Kathy left NASA and fulfilled another dream: traveling to the sea floor. Kathy became the first woman to travel to the Mariana Trench, the lowest known point on planet Earth. Kathy never forgot the maps she loved as a child and followed her curiosity to the highest reaches and most sunken depths—farther than anyone else.
Copies
No copies available.
Resist! Peaceful Acts That Changed Our World
With protests sweeping the nation and the world, young readers will be inspired by these accounts of activists who refused to be ignored.
"This book is right on time."—Nikki Grimes, Children's Literature Legacy Medal Winner
From music to marches, from sit-ins to walk-outs, activists throughout history have defended the disenfranchised and demanded change, refusing to back down even in the face of violent suppression and overwhelming opposition. Today, a new generation of activists has arisen, speaking up in unprecedented numbers against systemic oppression, bias, and injustice.
Now available in paperback, Resist! is a collection of twenty-one brief but comprehensive essays accompanied by striking artwork and rich supplementary material by Diane Stanley. Resist! reminds us of those who fought for the world we have today, and gives us strength for the fights that lay ahead.
Featured figures include: Harriet Tubman, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Woody Guthrie, Mohandas Gandhi, Irena Sendler, The Hollywood Ten, Claudette Colvin and Rosa Parks, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, The Greensboro Lunch Counter Sit-in protestors, Martin Luther King, Jr., Larry Itliong, Dolores Huerta, Cesar Chavez, Richard Oakes, The Tree-Sitters of Pureora, Father Luis Olivares, Tank Man, Nelson Mandela, Ryan White, Ai Weiwei, the "It Gets Better" Project, The March For Our Lives protestors, and Greta Thunberg.
Diane Stanley, award-winning author and illustrator of many distinctive informational books for young people, writes with passion and conviction of the world's greatest activists, past and present, in this book which is as hopeful as it is inspiring.
Copies
No copies available.